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Emilia Lahnsteiger
Dr. med. Emilia Marietta Lahnsteiger, Baroness Lahnsteiger of Korlburg (April 8, 3559 - January 1,, 3645) was an influential Hulstrian liberal politician who formerly served as Staatsministerin of Hulstria & Gao-Soto, the first liberal politician to hold that office in centuries. Life Lahnsteiger comes from an upper-middle class family from the capital Kien. Her parents were both psychologists and politically identified with the urban liberal bourgeoisie, which was without political representation before 3563. After school, she attended the Medizinische Universität Kien from 3577 to 3581, and became a medical doctor. She worked at several public and private clincis between 3581 and 3584, and specialized in neurology. Politics Entrance into Politics Lahnsteiger had been active in student politics at university, initially flirting with the left, but later converting to libertarianism as she was put off by what she called "a leftist ideology of authoritarianism paternalism". She was a member of the district assembly of her residential area in Kien from 3582 to 3584, and was deputy leader of the LVP caucus there. In the 3584 general election, in which the LVP hoped to make big gains, she was chosen as candidate for Kien-Korlburg-Nord, a swing district which had alternated between all major parties in the previous decade. The federal Liberal leader, Janina Stadtmann, hoped to boost her party's fortunes by fielding young and unconventional candidates (Lahnsteiger was only 25 at that time). The sitting MP from the populist Sozialgewissenhaftigkeits Partei, Erhard Hamann, was widely seen as extremely vulnerable, and his seat was targeted by Social Democrats, Hosian Democrats and Liberals. After an unconventional campaign in which she toured bars, night clubs, discos and campuses and that was criticized as "frivolous" by her opponents, she won the district with 36.5%, a swing of seven percent, only 0.7% ahead of her nearest opponent. Backbencher She became the youngest Liberal Member of the Reichstag, and one of the youngest parliamentarians in the country. In the following five years, she worked from the backbenches and lobbied for support for decriminalization of drugs and generally looser laws on personal behavior. In 3588, she joined a group called the Liberal Alcoholics, which aimed to make it legal for 16-year-olds to buy alcohol without restrictions. She later distanced herself from the group. The episode was sharply criticized by her leading centre-left opponent in her constituency, who made it a campaign issue when she ran for re-election in 3589. However, the LVP's huge gains in Hulstria Crownland and the heavy losses of the centre-left HSP throughout the country lead to a triumphant re-election for Lahnsteiger, who won 42.7% of the vote, with an 11% margin over her nearest rival. Health Minister From 3589 to 3592, she was deputy health spokesperson of the LVP, and, shortly ahead of the cabinet formation, moved to the Liberal frontbench after the incumbent, Dr. Franz Hechl, had announced his retirement. She became Health Minister shortly thereafter as the LVP was given the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Her main achievement was the legalization of medical marijuana, which she managed to pass in a free vote in the Reichstag. Her constant calls for looser regulation of drugs, alcohol, smoking and tobacco made her popular among the Liberal youth and party base, and she was soon considered a serious future leadership candidate. In 3597, when plans of Herbert Griesmeyer and Hans Holzinger to sack her from cabinet had gone public, a massive backlash from the party base ensued, which resulted in the two leaders backpedaling and retaining the Health ministry for Lahnsteiger in the 3598 cabinet formation under Staatsminister Matiasu Fukuyama. 15th of September Movement and Opposition to Communism After the Communist party under Sascha Meinhof came to power in 3604, Lahnsteiger became chairperson of the LVP parliamentary caucus, and thus, as the head of the largest non-government party, Leader of the Opposition. She declared it her goal to "to preserve the Septembrist, democratic political structure of our country, as well as the freedoms we enjoy thanks to this order", which she believed was threatened by the Meinhof administration, whose first measure was to legalize paramilitaries as parts of political parties. After an unexpectedly quick implosion of the Communist government following the 3606 general election, the LVP stormed ahead in a snap poll held to fill the seats vacated by the radical parties, which had collectively dissolved following their electoral flop. In July of the same year, she won the LVP leadership election against Klaus Zinnberger and other candidates, winning a stunning 66.8%. She thus succeeded the outgoing Hans Holzinger, who was interim Chairman of the party while it was part of the 15th of September Movement during the three years of Communist rule. First Liberal Staatsminister One year later, she became the first liberal Staatsminister of Hulstria & Gao-Soto in centuries in a coalition with the HDV (Herbert Griesmeyer had failed infamously to assume the position in 3601 despite an electoral mandate, allowing the radical parties to take over). In government, the coalition banned paramilitaries, re-introduced the symbolic dual state religion and tightened restrictions on abortion. On other issues, the LVP launched solo efforts to pass libertarian policies such as legalizing prostitution and making it a recognized profession, removing state regulations from private universities and deregulating the stock market. Most controversially, Finance Minister Harald Matsuyama (LVP) proposed to cut taxes for high-income and low-income earners by four percent each, and claimed that big cuts were needed in order to outweigh the lost revenue. Matsuyama assigned most of these cuts to Infrastructure in his proposed budget, but the HDV refused to back it, leading to its defeat in the diet while the tax cuts passed. Surprisingly, no deficit ensued, as the economy started to grow rapidly, which the LVP attributed to deregulation and more investment following the tax cut. However, accusations of fiscal miscalculation were directed against the LVP, and the tax episode continued to cause disputes in the media, academia and general public. Lahnsteiger herself tried to give the whole budget episode a positive spind, suggesting that "instead of quarreling over why the economy is so strong, we should simply acknowledge that it is and rejoice that life is therefore getting better for our citizens under this administration. Also, the booming economy has the nice side-effect of doing away with the small disagreements between my party and the HDV." 3611 Election and Defeat Main article: Hulstria & Gao-Soto general election, 3611 Encouraged by the pleasant economic development, Lahnsteiger agreed to the HDV's proposal to hold early elections, convinced that voters would credit her party for accelerating growth. She ran a passive feel good campaign and Snap elections were called for January 3611. However, the decision to support them backfired for the LVP, as it was reduced to 31% while the HDV gained over eleven percent, up to 38%, thus winning a clear plurality. Lahnsteiger decided to resign the LVP leadership, but remained influential within her party as figurehead of the right-libertarian wing. Post-Staatsministership Lahnsteiger remained influential in the LVP after her resignation as Chairwoman, and was often considered an émincence grise of the party. She also waded into policy debates when Dr. Leida Weigel (HDV), the Health Minister, sought to repeal the loose smoking laws introduced by Lahnsteiger when she was in charge of that department, denouncing the reforms sharply: I wholeheartedly oppose this bill and the specific attitude to public health that it is based on. Not only would this reform impose considerable burdens on those who operate gastronomic businesses, but also would it greatly extend the power of the state in multiple areas without an adequate countervalue: first of all, we face a massive increase in bureaucracy that is required to operate the new licensing system the Health Minister seeks to introduce for cafés and sales outlets, which will serve as anything but an encouragement for business activity (...) We also want to question the image of the consumer as a helpless, naive ignoramus that the Health Minister seeks to cultivate so that she can justify her overly paternalist approach to public health (...) Following this reform, it will be difficult to argue against further regulations on all kinds of products and services, and before we know where we are the all-invasive nanny state is at our doorstep." The dispute did considerable damage to then-Chairman Harald Matsuyama, a social liberal, who favored parts of the bill and allowed a free vote, in which left-leaning LVP parliamentarians helped to pass it. A sharp vocal backlash from the right-wing under Lahnsteiger ensued, which led to Hans Mende and three other Liberal MdRs to defect and form a new left-liberal party, Die Sozialliberalen, which managed to overtake the LVP in the 3611 general election. Political Positions Lahnsteiger is well-known for her staunch right-libertarian position, which at multiple times have alienated the LVP's traditional ally, the HDV, but also some of the more left-leaning members of her own party. She is also known for an unorthodox approach on public health policy, as she favors very little regulation on smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs and medical marijuana. As Health Minister, she significantly loosened restrictions on all of these products. Category:People of Greater Hulstria Category:Hulstrian and Gao-Soton people